I.
FROM fairest creatures we desire increase,
That thereby beauty's rose might never die,
But as the riper should by time decease,
His tender heir might bear his memory:
But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes,
Feed'st thy light'st flame with self-substantial fuel,
Making a famine where abundance lies,
Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel.
Thou that art now the world's fresh ornament
And only herald to the gaudy spring,
Within thine own bud buriest thy content
And, tender churl, makest waste in niggarding.
Pity the world, or else this glutton be,
To eat the world's due, by the grave and thee.
English poet, dramatist, and actor, considered by many to be the greatest dramatist of all time. Some of Shakespeare's plays, such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, are among the most famous literary works of the world. However, his early works did not match the artistic quality of Marlowe's dramas. Ben Jonson (1572-1637), another contemporary playwright, wrote that Shakespeare's "wit was in his own power; would the rule of it had been so too". Shakespeare possessed a large vocabulary for his day, having used 29,066 different words in his plays. Today the average English-speaking person uses something like 2,000 words in everyday speech. "It may be that the essential thing with Shakespeare is his ease and authority and thay you just have to accept him as he is if you are going to be able to admire him properly, in the way you accept nature, a piece of scenery for example, just as it is." (Ludwig Wittgenstein in Culture and Value, 1980) There is not much records of Shakespeare´s personal life. Rumors arise from time to time that he did not write his plays, but the real author was Christopher Marlowe, Queen Elizabeth or Edward De Vere (1550-1604), whom T.J. Looney identified in 1920 as the author of Shakespeare's plays. A large body of 'Oxfordians' have since built on this claim and the reluctance to believe that a man of humble origins could be such a great author. According to some numerologists, Shakespeare wrote The King James Version of the Bible at the age of 46. Their "evidence": Shake is the 46th word of the 46th Psalm, Spear is the 46th word from the end in the 46th Psalm. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small country town. Stratford was famous for its malting. The black plague killed in 1564 one out of seven of the town's 1,500 inhabitants. Shakespeare was the eldest son of Mary Arden, the daughter of a local landowner, and her husband, John Shakespeare (c. 1530-1601), a glover and wood dealer. John Aubrey (1626-1697) tells in Brief Lives that Shakespeare's father was a butcher and the young William exercised his father's trade, "but when he kill'd a Calfe he would do it in a high style, and make a speech." In 1568 John Shakespeare was made a mayor of Stratford and a justice of peace. His wool business failed in the 1570s, and in 1580 he was fined ¤40, with other 140 men, for failing to find surety to keep the peace. There is not record that his fine was paid. Later the church commissioners reported of him and eight other men that they had failed to attend church "for fear of process for debt". The family's position was restored in the 1590s by earnings of William Shakespeare, and in 1596 he was awarded a coat of arms. Very little is known about Shakespeare early life, and his later works have inspired a number of interpretations. T.S. Eliot wrote that "I would suggest that none of the plays of Shakespeare has a "meaning," although it would be equally false to say that a play of Shakespeare is meaningless." (from Selected Essays, new edition, 1960). Shakespeare is assumed to have been educated at Stratford Grammar School, and he may have spent the years 1580-82 as a teacher for the Roman Catholic Houghton family in Lancashire. When Shakespeare was 15, a woman from a nearby village drowned in the Avon. Her death was ruled accidental but it may have been a suicide. Later in Hamlet Shakespeare left open the question whether Ophelia died accidentally or by her own hand. At the age of 18, Shakespeare married a local girl, Anne Hathaway (died 1623), who was eight years older. Their first child, Susannah, was born within six months, and twins Hamnet and Judith were born in 1585. Hamnet, Shakespeare's only son, died in 1596, at the age of 11. It has often been suggested, that the lines in King John, beginning with "Grief fills the room of my absent child", reflects Shakespeare's grief. Hamlet was first printed in 1603. It is Shakespeare's largest drama, based on a lost play r-Hamlet. Prince Hamlet, an enigmatic intellectual, mourns both his father's death and his mother's remarriage. His father's ghost appears to him and tells that Claudius, married to Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, poisoned him. Hamlet, fascinated by cruelly witty games, swears revenge. "The time is out of joint; O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right!" He arranges an old play whose story has a parallel to that of Claudius. Hamlet's behavior is considered mad. He kills the eavesdropping Polonius, the court chamberlain, by thrusting his sword through a curtain. Polonius's son Laertes returns to Denmark to avenge his father's death. Polonius's daughter Ofelia loves Hamlet, but the prince's sadistically brutal behavior drives her to madness. "Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?" he tells Ophelia who dies by drowning. Before the slaughter that ends the story, Hamlet says to his friend Horatio: "I shall win at the odds. But thou wouldst not think how ill all's here about my heart." A duel takes place and ends with the death of Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius, and Hamlet, whose final words are "the rest is silence
A research paper abstract is often an integral part of a research paper writing assignments. Not all students will need to write abstracts; however, when a professor assigns a research paper abstract, students need to know how to write one effectively and succinctly.
A research paper abstract is basically a recap of the content of a research paper. An abstract is usually one paragraph (depending on the size of the paper) that says what the paper is about in very clear terms. Many people write abstracts in order to help readers to decide whether or not they want to read the research paper.
Because research paper abstracts are summaries of a research paper, students need to write the research paper before they can create the abstract. The research paper needs to have a very clear focus and direction in order for a student to be able to properly summarize the paper. For example, if the student does not really know what the point of the research paper is, the student would have a hard time summarizing the paper.
All research paper abstracts should be written only after the student has completed the paper and drawn his or her own conclusions. The abstract does not necessarily recap the conclusion, though. Instead, the abstract tells readers what they will be reading, but not necessarily what they will learn from the paper.
In many cases, the research paper abstract will appear before the introduction of the research paper and after the cover page. However, some professors prefer that students put the abstract on the cover of the research paper. For this reason, students need to be sure that they read the project assignment requirements thoroughly before submitting their final work.
In order to write a research paper abstract, students can review their research paper outline to get a better idea of the key points that he or she expressed in the paper. These key points should be addressed in the abstract, but they do not necessarily have to be explained.
A research paper abstract is very similar to other parts of a research paper, such as an introduction. An introduction also tells readers more about what they are going to learn from the research paper. However, the difference between introductions and research paper abstracts is that introductions provide background information and introduce the topic of the research paper. Abstracts give a general overview of the paper, but may not include any background information.
We would like to thank the National Library for the information we got. Also we would like to thank the St. Raphaela School in Novaliches, Quezon City for allowing us to interview and to take their opinions about our topic,Bullying.
We also like to thank ma’am Lavie Claire Tado and our principal Mrs. Ma. Teresa Dominguez for our field work.
Thank You and God Bless!ü
Name: Maryllan S. Francisco
Age: 15
Birthdate: June,22,1995
Address: #46 Rd GSIS Hills C.C.
CP/Tel: 09264561010
School: Elem: St. Raphaela Mary School
HS: Hope Christian Academy
Name: Eleanor Gladys D. Uy
Age: 15
Birthdate: July, 3 ,1995
Address: . #28 Bayaya St. SFDM Q.C.
CP/Tel: 09167171335/3745918
School:Elem: Good Samaritan Christian School
HS: Hope Christian Academy
Name: Jasper Enriquez
Age: 15
B-day: June,23,1995
Address: Q.C.
CP/Tel: 09054798780/9350629
School:Elem: St. Claire School (SCS)
HS: Hope Christian Academy
Name: Patrick John D. Danque
Age: 14
B-day: May,06,1996
Address: #7 Pagatpat St, Proj 7 Q.C.
CP/Tel: 09264561010
School:Elem: Our Lady of Montichian
HS: HCA(duh!)
Name: Patrick Ezekiel P. Sintor
Age: 15
B-day: May,15,1995
Address: Unit 116
CP/Tel: 09264561010
School:Elem: Diliman Preparatory School
HS: HCA
Name: Ellaine Jo L. Driz
Age: 14
B-day: July,16,1996
Address: 99-A Dangay St. Proj 7 Q.C.
CP/Tel: 4006800-09093443431/09068196116
School:Elem: Esteban Abada Elem. Sch
HS: HCA
Name: Daniel Policarpio
Age: 15
B-day: Feb,15,1995
Address: #55 Victoria St Sauyo Rd Novaliches Q.C.
CP/Tel: 4562618
School:FCAN
HS: HCA
Name: Joullia Patricia L. Tubera
Age: 14
B-day: May,18,1996
Address: Blk.17 Lt 29 , Pili St, Greenfields Subdivision, Novaliches Q.C.
CP/Tel: 09264561010
School:Elem: St Elizabeth Academy/Philadelphia HS/The Elizabethan School
HS: HCA/ St. Mary’s Academy
Harris: For me bullying is all about disrespect and to give example of that my classmates bullied me 2 months ago and gave me no respect at all I felt so discouraged after what happened. Days later I thank my Family for helping me , Im giving solution to the problem being bullied is something no person wants to be In and I never taught in my entire life I will be bullied such disgraced as that
Andre: In my past school which is EMC, there were many bullies & Im one of the victims. At first, I didn’t fightback. But then, I was continiously bullied until I asked my teacher to do something.The teacher helped me but still, there were many.
Anonymous, Judge Juan Luna: I don’t call myself a bully, but I want to be respected by everyone, sometimes I need to bully others in order to get a respect from others sometimes, I don’t realize that I’m a bully.
Anonymous: I like making fun of others but I know my limits. I wouldn’t hurt them that bad.
Name: Maryllan S. Francisco
Age: 15
Birthdate: June,22,1995
Address: #46 Rd GSIS Hills C.C.
CP/Tel: 09264561010
School: Elem: St. Raphaela Mary School
HS: Hope Christian Academy
Name: Eleanor Gladys D. Uy
Age: 15
Birthdate: July, 3 ,1995
Address: . #28 Bayaya St. SFDM Q.C.
CP/Tel: 09167171335/3745918
School:Elem: Good Samaritan Christian School
HS: Hope Christian Academy
Name: Jasper Enriquez
Age: 15
B-day: June,23,1995
Address: Q.C.
CP/Tel: 09054798780/9350629
School:Elem: St. Claire School (SCS)
HS: Hope Christian Academy
Name: Patrick John D. Danque
Age: 14
B-day: May,06,1996
Address: #7 Pagatpat St, Proj 7 Q.C.
CP/Tel: 09264561010
School:Elem: Our Lady of Montichian
HS: HCA(duh!)
Name: Patrick Ezekiel P. Sintor
Age: 15
B-day: May,15,1995
Address: Unit 116
CP/Tel: 09264561010
School:Elem: Diliman Preparatory School
HS: HCA
Name: Ellaine Jo L. Driz
Age: 14
B-day: July,16,1996
Address: 99-A Dangay St. Proj 7 Q.C.
CP/Tel: 4006800-09093443431/09068196116
School:Elem: Esteban Abada Elem. Sch
HS: HCA
Name: Daniel Policarpio
Age: 15
B-day: Feb,15,1995
Address: #55 Victoria St Sauyo Rd Novaliches Q.C.
CP/Tel: 4562618
School:FCAN
HS: HCA
Name: Joullia Patricia L. Tubera
Age: 14
B-day: May,18,1996
Address: #7 Pagatpat St, Proj 7 Q.C.
CP/Tel: 09264561010
School:Elem: St Elizabeth Academy/Philadelphia HS/The Elizabethan School
HS: HCA/ St. Mary’s Academy
Harris: For me bullying is all about disrespect and to give example of that my classmates bullied me 2 months ago and gave me no respect at all I felt so discouraged after what happened. Days later I thank my Family for helping me , Im giving solution to the problem being bullied is something no person wants to be In and I never taught in my entire life I will be bullied such disgraced as that
Andre: In my past school which is EMC, there were many bullies & Im one of the victims. At first, I didn’t fightback. But then, I was continiously bullied until I asked my teacher to do something.The teacher helped me but still, there were many.
Anonymous, Judge Juan Luna: I don’t call myself a bully, but I want to be respected by everyone, sometimes I need to bully others in order to get a respect from others sometimes, I don’t realize that I’m a bully.
Anonymous: I like making fun of others but I know my limits. I wouldn’t hurt them that bad.
CHAPTER III
“Introduction and Background of the Study”
A. Introduction
Phoebe Prince is a wonderful and talented 15-year old girl. She was bullied ever since 6th grade, she said her classmates were talking about her since she got pimples and acne. Her family wasn’t rich, they couldn’t afford socks for her. She said she never cared about the fact that her family couldn’t buy her even socks. She knew they were trying hard. She never had cellphone, nice shoes, or anything really nice, instead she wears hand-me-downs clothes from cousins and clothes from Good will. Her problem was that her friends usually mocked her everyday in the classroom to what she wears. She remembered what every word came out of their mouth: "Your so f-ing ugly, ew." "Your really wearing that sh-t?" "EW OH MY GOD, you are seriously wearing that?"
The Bullying eventually continued and she cried every day and every night. She was getting beat up with textbooks, too by her classmates. She said she had told the teacher, who comforted her and yet done nothing but informed her parents. On the second teacher that comforted her, she stood in front of the class and yelled at the 'bullies’. That made her situation worse. She drank a bottle of sleeping pills, when she was 11 but her mother made her vomit it. She was scared, she lost her confidence. Finally, after being bullied for years, she finally dropped out and homeschooled. And yet when her past classmates humilate her in front of the street, that night, she hung herself to death.
Phoebe Prince’s story is just as worse as many millions of story. As you can see, Bullying is everywhere--schools, work and at public places. This kind of problem was never completely solved. And we will get possible answers or solutions to this present burden in the society that keeps us trapped in a terrible nightmare. As worse as it can get, suicide becomes a very common headline in the newspaper but the most common cause is bullying. In time, we will know all about this problem.
B. Statement of the problem
1. What is Bullying?
2. How often does Bullying occurs?
3. What are the different positive and negative effects of bullying?
4. Who are the bullies and the victim of bullying?
5. What are the different factors that affects the bully and its victim?
6. How can we stop it?
C. Significance of the problem
The problem is very essential in the society to provide a good answer to the multiple questions of why is our society and government not that productive. The problem is about Bullying, which is an important factor on the degrading of morality of humans. This problem is important because the knowledge we will gain can be also used by the future generation as their reference/source. This will broaden our minds with cautious details about it.
D. Hypothesis
As students of HCA, we should give concern on this matter. Our hypothesis is that by finishing this term paper, we would be able to define the purpose of the bully and the victim of bullying in the society. Didaskaleinophobia is the fear of going to school.
E. Scope and limitations of the study
We have conducted our study in St. Mary’s Rafaela, where we surveyed 25 students by a shade-only questionnaire. We browsed books as references in National Library of the Philippines. Overall, we have researched for 3 months.
E. Definition of terms
Bullying- to treat abusively, to affect by means of force (source: www.merriam-webster.com)
St. Mary’s Rafaela-is a private school in Novaliches, where we conducted our research.
The research design that was used for this study was called Survey Design, because this was conducted through a paper-pen questionnaire. It also provides sufficient knowledge about the nature of an objects and person. It also helped this study to provide instrument for the measurements like survey form. Here, we used a questionnaire and photocopies of the likert scale we made as for measuring instrument in collecting data and to determine theeffects of bullying of the 3rd year high school students in St. Raphaela Mary School.
Population and Locale of the Study
The researchers took samples through Probability scheme. They used Simple Random Sampling, because each respondent’s probability is known.
The researchers conducted their study at St. Raphaela Mary School with approximately 25 students, because the school only has one section.
This group conducted their study at St. Raphaela Mary School to be able to get surveys and National Library for a reference regarding the topic.
Data Gathering Tools
The primary tool used in this study was an Agreement Likert Scale. Because this was a simplified questions addressed to the respondents. Open-ended type of questions was used in these questionnaires to have a better understanding about the question.
Data Gathering Procedure
The first step done by the researchers was they talked to the principal for the approval of conducting research work in the given school. As the principal approved the request they conducted the study on the given date and time. Then, they first introduce themselves in front of the class and said something about the topic and the instruction. After, they give out the questionnaires into the class.
Treatment of Data
The researchers compiled and tabularized all the data to organize the answer of the 3rd year high school students. They used questionnaires in this study.
Bullying is a form of abuse. It involves repeated acts over time attempting to create or enforce one group or person's power over another group or person, thus an "imbalance of power”. Bullying consists of three basic types of abuse – emotional, verbal and physical. It typically involves subtle methods of coercion such as psychological manipulation. Bullying can be defined in many different ways. Bullying in school and the workplace is also referred to as peer abuse. Bullying can occur in any context in which human beings interact with each other. This includes school, church, family, the workplace, home and neighborhoods. It is even a common factoring migration. Bullying can exist between social groups, social classes and even between countries. Bullying is an act of repeated aggressive behavior in order to intentionally hurt another person, physically or mentally. Bullying is characterized by an individual behaving in a certain way to gain power over another person.
Bullying at work is when someone tries to intimidate another worker, often in front of colleagues. It is usually, though not always, done to someone in a less senior position. It is similar to harassment, which is where someone's behavior is offensive. For example, making sexual comments, or abusing someone's race, religion or sexual orientation.
Bullying at work is a much greater problem than people once realized. It’s bad for the individuals and for the organizations they work for. Bullying behavior is not about being bossy. It’s not about the occasional, angry outburst on the subject of meeting work targets or reaching and maintaining standards. It’s about persistent criticism and condemnation.
The effects of bullying can be serious and even fatal. Victims of bullying can suffer from long term emotional and behavioral problems. Bullying can cause loneliness, depression, anxiety, lead to low self-esteem and increased susceptibility to illness.
Conclusion:
Bullying is a serious problem that can dramatically affect the ability of students to progress academically and socially. A comprehensive intervention plan that involves all students, parents, and school staff is required to ensure that all students can learn in a safe and fear-free environment.
Bullying topic is very complicatedtosolve. It must be treated with a firm and pedagogical discipline, with some rules that everybody mustfollow. If these rules aren’t followed, the bully will be penalized. It is necessary for the bully, because he must understand that violence isn’t a solution, the objective is that he issorry for his actionsanddoesn't have ithappen/ do itagain.
Recommendations:
·Let’srecognize bullying as a complex and abusive behavior with potentially serious social and mental health consequences for children and adolescents.
·We must advocate for federal support of research to develop and test programs to prevent or reduce bullying.
·We can urge physicians to be vigilant for signs and symptoms of bullying and screen for psychiatric co morbidities in at-risk patients.
·We must advocate for federal, state, and local resources to increase the capacity of schools to provide safe and effective educational programs by which students can learn to reduce and prevent violence.
·We must advocate for expanded funding for programs for assessment, consultation, and intervention services for bullies and their victims.
·We should urge parents and other caretakers of children and adolescents to be actively involved in their child’s school and community activities and teach children how to interact socially, resolve conflicts, deal with frustration, and cope with anger and stress.
Eliminate Bullying and Create and a Positive Working Environment
By Pauline Rennie Peyton.
Bullying in the workplace is now a recognised problem, and a cause for major concern. Victims stand to lose their self-esteem, their health and even their careers. Organisations that do not endeavour to put an end to this behaviour lose productivity, profits and their good reputations.
Dignity at Work is derived from the author's many years of experience working with organisations of all sizes and at all levels. This book outlines practical guidelines essential to organisations that want to combat bullying in the workplace, and psychologists and professional counsellors working with those organisations. It provides:
* the tools to identify bullying behaviour
* expertise to create new policies and integrate them into corporate culture
* confidence to know when and how to intervene practically and therapeutically
* the skills required to know when to seek external help from professional counsellors
* psychologists and counsellors with advice on how to transfer their skills to organisations as independent contractors
Bullying will no longer be tolerated, and organisations must create environments that do not support mistreatment. This book provides managers, Human Resources staff and professional counsellors with the skills required to be able to recognise when a problem exists, and deal with it effectively.
Ever since I can remember I have been bullied, but it really started as soon as I started secondary school. There was this one girl in my class who, along with her cousin, singled me out and for 3 years continued to bully me. I was never physically bullied but I think that verbal bullying is in some ways worse as the scars from that can take longer to heal! After having told the teachers on several occasions but to no avail, I decided (wrongly) to take matters into my own hands. I started calling her names and even though I knew I was just sinking to her level, I found that it got to her, so much so in fact that she told a teacher! The tables had turned and she didn’t like it!
The trouble came when I got called into the teacher’s office and told not to bully this girl. I couldn’t believe my ears! I told the teacher how this girl had been bullying me for years and I was just trying to get her to see how much it hurts. The teacher luckily was sympathetic to my situation and although she warned me that I mustn’t bully she spoke to the girl in question and the bullying stopped!
After about 6 months we began to become friends and have been ever since. I think she realised that I wouldn’t put up with being singled out. As for her cousin, he stopped when she did!
The moral of this is, don’t ever give up and never ever think that being bullied is your fault, it’s a problem with the bully not with you. The sooner you can come to terms with this, the stronger you will become.
Show them that what they are saying is like water of a ducks back even if inside your are really hurting and believe me I know how painful words can be! Don’t ever let them see it hurts and don’t ever let them think they have won.
Finally, when the bullies are getting you down remember "You are worth ten of them, so don’t let them get to you!"
H.E.
15 year old, Phoebe Prince hung herself after a series of bullying incidents
School bullying is everywhere. I don't know if there's even a way to intervene without making it worse for the vicitm of the bullies. Hearing about the 15 year old who hung herself over bullying, really hit home for me. I was bullied in the sixth grade, when I started getting acne, and my family was so poor we could not afford socks for myself. I never cared, about being poor, if I had to go without socks, so be it. I knew my parents were trying. Other kids, well, they cared. I wore hand-me-downs from my older cousin, and Goodwill-bought clothing. I never had a cell phone, or nice shoes, or anything really nice. Other kids, would call out from across classroom mocking me, and I still remember everything they said word for word. "Your so f-ing ugly, ew." "Your really wearing that sh-t?" "EW OH MY GOD, you are seriously wearing that?"
Sure, they were petty, but it hurt. I started cutting myself, crying all day, all night, every night. My teacher HEARD what they said, she WATCHED me cry my eyes out, she LISTENED when I told her what was wrong. She did NOTHING. She did not inform my parents of what was happening to me, she did not give any punishment, nothing. Not even when she watched a student beat me up - with his textbook- until I was crying and begging for him to stop. She did nothing. She told me to stop crying. She told me to do what other students wanted me too.
Another teacher held me while I cried, and stood infront of my class yelling at the "bullies" and that only made it worse. That night I went home and took a bottle of sleeping pills. I was 11. My mom made me puke everything out. My parents did not know, until now, that I was bullied, and I am almost 17.
I am scarred for life, I have no confidence in myself, I can't go back to public school, I have seen three counselors and things are not getting better for me. I can't face people, I can't go shopping without crying in the dressing room because I feel ugly. I had to face those bullies from 6th-11th grade. They were in my classes, they had my lunch periods, so I dropped out. I am now homeschooled. They ruined life for me. Now, I'm only happy when I go shopping. That's because I feel better then them, new things, recklessly spending money - I'm dropping hundreds every week. That's the only time I feel good about myself. It feels like revenge - like I'm showing them up - like I'm saying "No, I'm not an ugly little girl any more, look at all my nice things, look at everything I have. I'm not poor anymore.".
I don't know what you can do to stop bullying. When the victim of bullying tells, the bullying only gets worse. Parents need to step in and discipline their children who are bullies. Schools need to have better policies on bullying.
If your child is a victim of bullying, you need to intervene. You need to help your child. Not only is it ruining your childs childhood - it can hurt them for life. Please, step up when your child needs you. Here is a website parents should read whether the know their child is being bullied or not.
Have you or your child suffered from bullying? How did you handle the situation?
A STUDY ON BULLYING
FINAL REPORT
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this study is to determine if the problem of bullying in our schools in Saskatchewan is a serious problem and what steps are being taken to control this problem and is it working. The second part of this study is to assess the new Youth Criminal Justice Act to determine if it is an effective tool for the justice system to control youth violence. To better understand the problem of bullying, the author of this study interviewed teachers, parents, police, victims, crown prosecutors, school employees and school board members, past and present. In addition to these interviews, the author read and reviewed the many studies that have been completed in the past in regards to bullying and takes into account their determinations and recommendations for action in this study.
WHAT IS BULLYING?
The Honorable Marvin A. ZUKER, Ontario Court of Justice defines bullying in his paper regarding Bullying, School Violence and Youth Crime as “the tendency for some children to frequently oppress, harass or intimidate other children, verbally, physically or both, in and out of school” with repeated and systematic harassment and attacks on others. Bullying can be perpetrated by individuals or groups.He goes on to state in his paper, that bullies are aggressive and they may be quite self-confident, but they lack empathy for their victims. They feel a sense of entitlement and have little tolerance towards what is new or different. A more pervasive form of bullying is cyber-bullying. Threatening text messages, breaking into e-mail accounts to spread malicious messages, spamming victims, creating mean-spirited web sites have all become ways for bullies to harass or exclude their victims.
WHAT CAUSES BULLIES?
Jane ST. CLAIR in her paper “By Parents, For Parents”, states that “bullying is a learned behaviour, not a character trait.” She goes on to state that researchers have not been able to find a link between bullies and any particular religion, race, income level, divorce, or any other socio-economic factor.However, there are studies that suggest that bullies will most often come from single parent homes or low income earners. According to Dr. Peter SHERAS, 40% of bullies are themselves bullied at home or at school. Research has shown that a victim at home is more likely to be a bully at school. The reason may be that when a bully watches another child appear weak and cowering, it disturbs him because it reminds him of his own vulnerability and behaviour at home. The report goes on to say that “poor parenting is the hallmark of their children becoming bullies”. These parents may be permissive and unable to set limits on their child’s behaviour, often discipline inconsistently, are self-centered and neglectful and they often have prejudices based on race, sex, wealth and achievements. A child growing up in these conditions fails to learn empathy and compassion towards others.
PREVALENCE AND INCIDENCE OF BULLYING
An international study done for Health Canada (1999) found that 56% of boys and 40% of girls in grades 6 and 8 admitted that they had bullied someone that year; 43% of boys and 35% of girls said they had been targets of bullying.
In Canada, 14% of boys aged 4 to 11 years bully others and 5% are targeted for bullying by others sometimes or very often. Approximately 9% of girls between 4 and 11 years bully others while 7% are victimized. (Craig, Peters, and Konarski, 1998)
Victimization increase with age (Craig, Peters, and Konarski, 1998)
A study of 500 Vancouver students by Dr. Shelly Hymel found (Nelson, 2002)
- 12% of students reported being bullied once a week.
- 13% of students said they bullied others on a regular basis.
Thirty-eight percent of 5000 Canadians aged 5 to 14 reported being bullied at least “once or twice” during the term; 15% reported being bullied more often; 35% reported bullying others (O’Connel, Pepler, and Craig, 1999).
In 90% of episodes, there was only one bully; in 9% there were two, and fewer that 1% reported more than three bullies (Craig and Pepler 1997)
Most bullying happened in or close to the school building (B.C. Ministry of Education 2000)
Seventy-one percent of teachers said they usually intervene with bullying problems; 25% of students report that teachers intervene (Pepler and Craig 2000)
IS THERE A PROBLEM IN OUR SCHOOLS WITH BULLYING?
To quote one teacher that I interviewed on this subject his response being,“If a school tells you that they don’t have a problem they are lying.”In all the interviews Iconducted, there is no doubt that the problem of bullying exists in all schools, however, some schools deal with the problem more effectively that others. Why is this?The common consensus among all the people interviewed is: leadership. The schools that provide good leadership will have a good handle on the problem and those who ignore the problem and do not take a leadership role, will have the problem personified.
WHY IS THERE A PROBLEM WITH BULLYING?
There are a number of reasons why bullying exists in our schools.Interviews and previous studies have identified the most significant reasons as follows: unwillingness of administrators to admit that there is a problem in their school; fear of some educators of being challenged;lack of administrators support;feeling of a lack of power;students are “lawyer savvy”; inadequate teachers in positions they are incapable of handling; inadequate training;knowledge of the law by those setting the limits, for example, police, teachers, parents.
WHAT IS BEING DONE ABOUT BULLYING IN OUR SCHOOLS?
The good news is, in 2004 the Saskatchewan Minister of Learningdirected all School Boards, after the death of a young student, to implement an anti-bullying program in their schools and this was to be completed by the end of the school year. This year the Minister has followed up with this directive to ensure that all School Boards have complied with this directive and required an update as to where they were with their programs. The Minister has shown the “leadership” required from the top and this has to be carried through to entire school systems, including the students themselves, as it will not succeed if they do not buy into the program. From my interviews in the school communities, some schools are ahead in their programs while others are simply playing lip service to the program and not providing the leadership in training personnel involved in the program. This second part of the Minister’s directive is to develop and enhanced anti-bullying and suicide prevention and intervention services for students by working with Mental Health Service Providers. The Provincial Government will provide $250,000 in funding over three years for this initiative. The third part of his plan is to seek changes to the Criminal Code of Canada and the Youth Criminal Justice Act to specifically deal with systemic bullying.
The RCMP in Saskatchewan have made the problem of bullying one of their Division priorities and have directed that all detachments become actively involved with the schools in their areas to combat this growing problem. It appears that some RCMP Detachments have wholeheartedly endorsed this directive while others are still in the infant stage. According to statistics, bullies will eventually come in contact with the law as they grow older and become involved in more serious crime, therefore this early intervention should assist in steering many young people away from a life of crime.
DO WE NEED BETTER LAWS OR MORE LAWS?
A number of studies have shown that over 60% of the victims of violent youth crime are committed against other young persons. Unfortunately these offenders are most often released on bail conditions and returned to the very same schools where the offence was committed. This victimizes the victim once again and is unacceptable. The Youth Criminal Justice system mandate is not only to rehabilitate the offended, it is also mandated to include the protection of the public from the youth offender. How do we effectively do this with the present youth justice system?
The Juvenile Delinquents Act, which was repealed in 1986 and replaced by the Young Offenders Act had the minimum age of criminal responsibility set at seven years of age, however, it was raised to twelve years of age under this new Act. Many critics of this new Act preferred that the minimum age remain at seven years.Their reasoning being, that many of these children, under the age of twelve, have the mental capacity of knowing right from wrong and are well aware of the consequences of their actions, however, go ahead and commit offences without fear of being accountable for their actions. Studies have shown that bullying in schools is at his highest rate at age seven and decreases steadily until the age of fifteen when, at its lowest rate, is more of a violent nature. This decrease in bullying over these years is attributed to the maturing of many of the students; however, there are those who continue their ways as they have never been held accountable for their actions and simply progress to more serious forms of bullying. At present the Youth Criminal Justice Act cannot be used to deal with the children under twelve to get them into programs that will steer them away from a path that will lead to a life of crime. As stated in one study, the Youth Criminal Justice Act should be used to select and defined circumstances for children under the age of twelve and should be considered to be a legitimate and appropriate tool to prevent the continuing risk to society and to positively intervene in the youth’s life to interrupt a downward criminal spiral as they get older. Statistics show that 40% of those students involved in bullying will eventually get involved in more serious crime and obtain a criminal record. Some cities and town have passed bylaws to deal with “bullying”; however, they also cannot be used for children under the age of twelve years. Although these bylaws have shown to be an effective tool in combating bullying in schools, it still cannot address those under twelve years who know full well that they cannot be held accountable for their actions. This leaves the discipline up to the school officials and it has been shown in this report that many school officials abdicate their responsibilities in dealing with this problem. Therefore it is imperative that the youth courts become involved in this area well before the age of twelve.
The other area of concern is the sixteen and seventeen year olds being treated as young offenders. Although these youths can be raised to adult court if they are repeat or violent offenders, critics still have concerns that, since these youths are given the responsibility of having a driver’s licence, then they must also be subject to the adult laws that govern their driving habits.
One police officer stated that the present Youth Criminal Justice Act is a piece of legislation that, in it’s present form, is very troublesome to most operational police officers. In its present form the Youth Criminal Justice Act does little to serve the victimized public and parents who are looking for help with youths who engage in crime. A solution to this problem has been suggested in a number of studies that the Act be amended to allow Youth Court Judges to impose probationary sentences that include the parents in a Court Order to ensure that they become part of the solution.
SHOULD “BULLYING” BE A SEPARATE OFFENCE IN THE CRIMINAL CODE?
A number of police officer have indicated that a separate offence dealing with “Bullying” be created in the Criminal Code. This offence would be a dual procedure offence and its definition would outline the different levels of “Bullying”. By using this offence it would bring more awareness to the problem of “Bullying” in our schools. By using the Criminal Code offences of Assault, Intimidation, Extortion, Mischief, which are serious offencesleads one to believe that authorities are also “bullying” by using these more serious offences to deal with the problem.
OTHER AREAS OF CONCERN WITH THE Youth Criminal Justice Act.
It is interesting to note, that when interviewing police officers in regards to the Youth Criminal Justice Act, they seem to conflict on their opinions whether it is an improvement over the Young Offenders Act;however, they are all in agreement that it is not the Act that solves the problem in society, it is the whole community working in partnership that will solve our youth problem. Unfortunately, our society is not to the point where they feel they have to get involved in these problems and leave it up to the police, teachers or other professionals to do their job.
One police officer sees the Youth Criminal Justice Act as a positive change in that it turns the youth problem back to the community to solve.This certainly does not sit well with other police officers as they must now deal with the youth in their community. On the positive, it forces the police officers to make partnerships within the community to solve the problem as the choice of incarceration is not a viable option under this new Act.
Another police officer feels that one of the shortfalls of the Youth Criminal Justice Act is an increase in the number of probationary sentences imposed but there does not seem to be corresponding increases in the level of probation sentence enforcement, nor the number increase of probation officers. Further, when a young person violates their probation, it is a summary offence, not a dual procedure offence so the police and the courts have a very difficult problem in remanding a young person, even for multiple breaches of probation charges. We need to be able to remand young people who are continually violating conditions of their sentences. To simply release a youth on a document for these breaches and sending him/her back into the community is simply not an effective solution. In some studies there have been recommendations for the Youth Criminal Justice Act to provide minimal gaol sentences of seven days for a first offence of a breach of probation and a thirty day sentence for a second breach of probation. These sentences will in still in the young offender that they have to be accountable for their actions.
WHAT YOUTHS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE YOUTH CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT
The following comments were taken from the website “The Great Youth Criminal Justice Act Debate”where youths were encouraged to take part in this discussion.
- ten and eleven year olds are now more educated with crime that they know that the crime is wrong. It will help in the long run that these kids will learn that they will be prosecuted.
- Young Offenders Act actually treated offenders more harshly that the Youth Criminal Justice Act, however, the new law does take into account the fact that younger and younger children are committing more serious crimes and this allows that issue to be dealt with.
- If a child believes that he/she is old enough and mature enough to commit a crime that if committed by an adult can be punishable under the Criminal Code, that individual should have to pay the consequences no matter what the age. If society does not take quick action punishing the child for the offence then society is condoning it.
- If they are old enough to engage in criminal behaviour then surely they should be responsible for their actions – keep the Young Offenders Act;
- Publish their names, juveniles are well aware of the law and they play around with it. The revolving doors around the justice system have to stop.
- Children are growing up and maturing very fast, faster than before and our laws have to adjust to fit the times. They know the difference between right and wrong. “Do adult crime, do adult time”.
- There should not be a set age of criminal responsibility. Each individual offender should be psychologically assessed and then the right course of action taken. Every young person is different, we can’t lump them all together in a specific age group. They grow mentally and emotionally at various rates just as they do physically.
- Age does not always shroud innocence. A person with the mentality to do wrong should be punished.
- If a child is able to handle committing a crime then they should be able to handle the consequences of their actions.
These are only some of the comments taken from this debate, however, they do indicate from the youths who participated that actions has to be taken now with youth crime.
CONCLUSION
It is enlightening to know that we have people who are concerned about the youth problem we have in our society today and there has to be changes to existing laws to deal with this problem.As I mentioned in this report, the laws will only become effective when all involved, including the offender, become involved in the solution.
RECOMMENDATIONS
That the minimum age of criminal responsibility should be determined on a case by case assessment not set as a standard of twelve years of age.
That sixteen and seventeen year olds not be included in the Youth Criminal Justice Act but subject to Adult Court.
That the Youth Criminal Justice Act be amended to allow Youth Court Judges to include parents in the probations of young offenders to ensure they become part of the solution.
That the Youth Criminal Justice Act be amended to provide mandatory gaol sentences for breaches of probations and conditional sentences.
That an offence of “Bullying” be included in the Criminal Code of Canada as a dual procedure offence.
